Guyana Times - Saturday, October 21, 2023

IFAD-funded projects

Hinterland women, youths among major beneficiaries – Country Rep Nationwide coverage from the best news team in Guyana guyanatimesgy.com

Issue No. 5529

P13

THE BEACON OF TRUTH SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

Modern centre for agriculture for Caricom countries to be built in Guyana – Pres Ali announces Page 3

PRICE $100 VAT INCLUDED

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Guyana embarks on project to become ‘major producer’ P14 of honey …Cuban team arrives to provide assistance

Truck driver nabbed while attempting to dispose P11 of shotgun

Landlady on bail for breaking into tenant’s home P15 Motorcyclist killed in P16 Linden crash

…new Situation Room to provide farmers with real-time data

Arbitration likely if Guyana and ExxonMobil cannot settle disputed US$214M cost oil claim Page 7

Vision 25 by 2025

Regional banking sector must step up, support agri, farmers – Ali Page 2

CANU unearths 400 rounds of ammo at Mocha

Carpenter P17 charged for killing Berbice businessman 61-year-old man wanted for raping teen P15

Page 11

Miner drops bag with gun, ammo, ganja while escaping from Police

Page 11

“Start looking at your personal P12 security” – Commander advises for Christmas season

2 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Vision 25 by 2025

Regional banking sector must step up, support agri, farmers – Ali T

he Caribbean Community (Caricom) does not have the luxury of time when it comes to slashing its food import bill by 25 percent by 2025, and regional banking institutions have been called out to stop lagging and step up to support the relentless agri-food efforts.

Delivering the feature address at the Agri-Investment Forum and Expo on Friday, President Dr Irfaan Ali positioned that regional financial institutions can do much more to support farmers and agriculture.

His call comes at a juncture where countries have been rallying in unified efforts to slash the massive food import bill and achieve food security.

“Unfortunately, our banking sector lack the internal drive and the internal commitment to food security in the Region. I say so not because we want to pick

President Irfaan Ali delivering his remarks at the opening ceremony

a fight with the banking sector, but because I believe the banks across the Region can do much more and should do much more in supporting food production, agriculture and our farmers,” the President lamented.

In Guyana, he commended the banking sector for supporting the policy direction of Government in aiding farmers, which in turn, has led to increased operations.

In three years, resource allocation to agriculture to

farmers increased by over 300 percent to a whopping $33 billion.

“What followed this in the last three years from the local banking sector is an increase in their lending to agricultural projects by 61 percent.

This tells a story that both in the public and private sector, there is great confidence in what we are doing in relation to the 25 by 2025 and in relation to the food production plan.”

Just last July, the Government managed to broker the reduction of interest rates on loans to poultry farmers from eight percent to five percent.

Vision 25 by 2025 was conceptualised by President Ali for a 25 percent reduction in the Region’s food import bill by the year 2025. Owing to the Region’s dependency on imported foods, it faces hardships when disruptions occur.

Now, he noted that countries have to ensure that regional institutions and the Caribbean Development Bank reorganise their project portfolio to reflect what is required to achieve Vision 25 by 2025.

The President affirmed, “They have to reorganise their programme portfolio to provide greater investment, to bring commercial banks in the Region together, to deploy their private sector window with the regional commercial banks.

We have to build more consortiums. Not everybody as small as we are, are investing in the same technology.

When we say Guyana’s prosperity must be the prosperity of the Region, that is why we’re making these investments.”

As he highlighted the determination of countries such as St Vincent, Barbados, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and Jamaica to achieve this vision, the incoming Caricom chairperson added that the age for trade barriers amongst countries is over.

“We are committed to positioning Guyana among the leaders in food security. Vision 25 by 2025, the vision of Caricom, will succeed. There is absolutely no room for failure…The work of the Ministerial Task Force of Caricom cannot be understated. We can no lon-

ger compete with each other.

What we have to do is utilise each other’s competitive advantage for the benefit of the Region. The days for trade barriers among ourselves are over when it comes to agriculture.”

As of 2022, the Region achieved 57 percent of the production target towards reducing the food import bill. Over the next two years, more than 1.4 metric tonnes of commodities must be produced to achieve this target.

A spice development programme has been launched in Jamaica; a national shade house project and cattle farm in Trinidad and Tobago; increased agricultural production in St Lucia and Dominica; a new tissue lab and phytosanitary legislation adoption in Barbados; 75,000 hectares of land for large-scale agricultural projects in Suriname.

Guyana is the lead in agriculture and food security in the Caricom bloc. This is reflected in its transformative projects in priority commodities such as corn, soya beans, aquaculture, livestock along with traditional crops. (G12)

NEWS

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

BRIDGE OPENINGS

BRIDGE The Demerara OPENINGS Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, Oct 21 – 22:00h – 23:30h and Sunday, Oct 22 – 23:30h – 01:00h.

The Berbice Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on: Saturday, Oct 21 – 08:30h – 10:00h and Sunday, Oct 22 – 10:00h – 11:30h.

FERRY SCHEDULE

Parika and Supenaam departure times – 05:00h, 10:00h-12:00h, 16:00h, 18:30h daily.

WEATHER TODAY There will be sunshine during the day. Expect clear skies at night. Temperatures should range between 24 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius.

Winds: Easterly North-Easterly to East SouthEasterly between 1.78 metres and 4.91 metres.

High Tide: 08:54h and 21:13h reaching maximum heights of 2.17 metres and 2.24 metres.

Low Tide: 14:40h reaching a minimum height of 1.11 metre.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2023

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023 DAILY MILLIONS

06 11 23

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COMMODITIES Indicators

US$

Crude Oil

$92.16/barrel

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Rough Rice London Sugar

$285.80/ton $726.20/ton

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Change %

USD Per Ounce $1981.20 $1972.40 -0.00

$1982.20 $1997.60 -0.00

Modern centre for agriculture for Caricom countries to be built in Guyana – Ali announces …new Situation Room to provide farmers with real-time data

T

he regional puzzle is taking shape to achieve mighty food security objectives set out for 2025, and now, Guyana will be home to a new Centre of Excellence, allowing youths both locally and across the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to pursue agricultural studies.

President Dr Irfaan Ali made this announcement when the Agri Investment Forum and Expo opened on Friday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

This undertaking is a combined effort between the Guyana Government and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

President Irfaan Ali joined First Lady Arya Ali and other officials to cut the ribbon, thus officially opening the Agri Investment Forum and Expo

(IICA), where the longstanding Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) will be refashioned into a facility that focuses on “innovation and resilience”.

It comes on the heels of

allowing youths to cash in on a piece of the pie in the agri-business framework, by leveraging technology and innovation.

The Head of State divulged, “IICA and the Government of Guyana has agreed that we will develop a Centre of Excellence for our young people in the field of agriculture here in Guyana for across the Region. The Guyana School of Agriculture will be transformed into IICA-Guyana Centre of Excellence for studies in the field of agriculture.”

Coming out of his recent visit to Costa Rica, it was agreed that youths within Caricom will be visiting the IICA Headquarters to receive training at their innovation centre.

The Guyanese Head of

State also announced several new projects in the pipeline, pivotal in ensuring that Caricom does not decelerate its current pace to achieve food security.

Guyana will also be leading the development of a regional “Situation Room” here, serving as a data analytics centre to provide “real-time” data to farmers and thereby influencing their decision-making.

“It will be the development of a Caricom Situation Room that will [provide] real-time data to our farmers to all evidence-based decision making and more proactive planning in terms of our crop development and growing…

All of this would add to the rich set of policies we have for young people,” he analysed.

TURN TO PAGE 14

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

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Editor: Tusika Martin News Hotline: 231-8063Editorial: 231-0544, 223-7230, 223-7231, 225-7761 Marketing: 231-8064Accounts: 225-6707 Mailing address: Queens Atlantic Industrial Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, marketing@guyanatimesgy.com

Change in mindset

D

runk driving is one of the most troubling traffic offences. Driving while either intoxicated or drunk is dangerous, and drivers with high blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) are at a greatly increased risk of being involved in car accidents and sustaining highway injuries and/or vehicular deaths.

Every single injury and death caused by drunk driving is fully preventable. Alcohol-related crashes locally are now as significant as they are in other countries.

Unfortunately, in spite of these concerns, alcoholimpaired driving remains a serious national problem that tragically affects many victims and their families.

The approach to combat drunk driving has been severely lacking for years. With the passage of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2022, aimed at toughening existing laws to prevent drunk driving and the carnage on the road, it was hoped that this would be properly enforced and curb this practice. However, from the road carnage we are seeing as a result of drinking and driving, we are convinced that this too have not been able to tame this delinquent behaviour. We agree that this is not a Police issue only, but full responsibility must be taken by the driver; however, full enforcement will send a pellucid message to drivers.

We agree with Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, when he had said had said during his presentation on the Bill that the nation needs to change its mindset. To quote the AG: “This can’t be the Government’s job alone, and legislative changes alone can never be able to curb this horrendous, tragic loss of human life in our country. Every member of society, every responsible organisation in this country, must join hands with our government as we begin to chart a new course of making our roads safe.”

As the country continues to battle with the effect of drunk driving, more needs to be done as the holidays approach.

Public messages via the media should be issued to citizens to constantly remind drivers about the impacts of drunk driving, and what is the law’s position on it. Cautioning drivers every time, about getting behind the wheel after surpassing the drink limit, is necessary, as every year there are scores of young and new drivers who are not familiar with these issues or the reality of the roads. Drunk driving aside, World Health Organization (WHO) data had shown that alcohol kills a whopping three million people worldwide each year — more than AIDS, violence and road accidents combined. It was stated that men are particularly at risk.

According to the WHO, alcohol causes more than one in 20 deaths globally each year, including by drunk driving, alcohol-induced violence and abuse, and a multitude of diseases and disorders. Men account for more than threequarters of alcohol-related deaths.

Here, in Guyana, there are many social ills affecting citizens, and alcohol abuse is seen as one of the contributing factors.

WHO has, over the years, been urging countries to do more to counter harmful drinking, and to reach a goal of cutting global consumption by 10 per cent between 2010 and 2025. It is also urging countries to further tax alcohol, and ban advertising of such beverages to reduce consumption.

However, this is not enough, there is need to push for a change in attitude and lifestyle changes in general, especially among the younger segment of our population.

While the Government must play a crucial role in respect to relevant programmes and policies, and put in place the necessary legislative framework and other support mechanisms aimed at addressing the harmful use of alcohol, this burden must also be shared by all citizens.

It is important that we remind drivers of the provisions of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2022, which creates new criminal offences of motor manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm when driving under the influence of drink or drugs.

A person will be found guilty of motor manslaughter where that person causes the death of another person while driving under the influence of drink or drugs. The penalty for conviction of this offence is not less than 10 years.

It was “Bring your Pet to school” day on Friday at the Aishalton Nursery School, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo). The children were very creative with their pets all dressed for school (Photos courtesy of F. Fredericks, O. Fredericks)

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, Queens Atlantic Investment Estate Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Rett syndrome in Guyana Dear Editor, Statistics from the World Bank Group show that one billion people experience some form of disability. Rett syndrome is a very rare neurological disorder that affects brain development and functionality. More than 6,500 girls are born with Rett syndrome each year.

That means that more than 17 girls are born with Rett syndrome every single day.

Rett syndrome is genetically caused by a mutation in a gene located on the X chromosome. Babies with Rett syndrome are born after a normal pregnancy and delivery. Most infants with Rett

syndrome seem to grow and behave ordinarily for the first six months. However, signs and symptoms start to appear thereafter. These symptoms are: seizures, loss of speech, loss of motor skills, diminishing eye contact, breathing problems, wringing and washing of hands, and scoliosis.

For better understanding, the symptoms of Rett syndrome are a combination of autism, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, and a variety of anxiety disorders.

Although there's no cure for Rett syndrome, potential treatments are being studied. Doctors can diagnose Rett by observing signs and symptoms at every stage of growth

and development. However, this is not possible in Guyana, due to the lack of trained personnel and equipment in the health care institutions, as well as the rarity of this disorder, as it can often be misdiagnosed as autism.

As a result, we were inspired and motivated to initiate an awareness campaign and non-profit organization – Precious Angels Charity – in an effort to spread awareness and raise funds for the treatment of those who are silenced by this disorder. The founder of this organization, Hadiyyah Mohamed, initiated this organization after being inspired by her niece, who was diagnosed with Rett syn-

drome.

If anyone has a relative or loved one experiencing peculiar signs and symptoms, be aware that help can be provided. Please reach out to us on our social media platforms, which you can find on our website: www.preciousangels.com. Although diagnosis and full treatment are not quite present in Guyana for suspected cases of Rett syndrome, it is definitely on our agenda.

Precious Angels Charity is 100% non-profit, and our aims surround raising funds that would go towards research to develop a cure and to aid those affected by this disability. However, we can-

Eradicate barriers surrounding darts in Guyana Dear Editor, Darts, for some, is not a sport, but a game. Interest in darts has grown significantly, not only in Guyana, but in the rest of the world, especially in the UK. For many years, Guyana has been represented and placed on the world stage of darts, regionally and internationally, with little or no acknowledgment from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. Recently, the Golden Arrowhead was flying high in Chile as the Guyanese team emphatically surpassed their oppo-

nents in the qualifiers of the Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean (CDLC).

Norman Madhoo, pipping Sudesh Fitzgerald in the qualifiers, is now qualified to participate in the PDC World Darts Championship to be held in London, UK. Editor, while the Golden Arrowhead was flying in Chile, the success achieved was solely at the expense of the Guyanese contingent, who worked hard through fundraisers integrated with few sponsorships to ensure their participation. Without

any moral or financial support from the Guyana Darts Association and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, it has to be disappointing and frustrating for the people who are placing Guyana on the world stage of darts.

With the absence of support from both the Guyana Darts Association and the Ministry, I won't be surprised if Norman Madhoo is forced to forfeit the opportunity to represent the entire Latin America and the Caribbean at this mega-event to be held in the UK.

Darts is a sport, and is recognised as such in all darts-playing countries. It would therefore be prudent for the Ministry to play an active part in continuation of support and encouraging recognition of this sport.

I wish to call on the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport to work closely with the Guyana Darts Association to eradicate the barriers that are impeding our athletes.

Yours truly, Mustafaa Azimullah

Guyanese abroad now have a chance to get assistance from Diaspora Unit to solve NIS problems Dear Editor, Numerous Guyanese people abroad in the USA, Canada and other countries (what we call the Guyanese Diaspora) now have a good chance to get their National Insurance Scheme (NIS) benefits paid and questions answered.

Recognizing that the NIS has been an ongoing failure, President Ali is the first President to take the bull by the horns and is jacking up the NIS, which I described as a poster child for governmental inefficiency and as “Humpty Dumpty.”

The President has started an initiative to process 10,000 NIS pending applications by year end. This is a tall order. According to the President, there are 300+ diasporan cases waiting for answers. The good news is that the Diaspora Unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a call to “Guyanese living in the USA.” The release said, “Do you have an outstanding query with the National Insurance Scheme (NIS)? Email the Diaspora Unit at: nisusdiaspora@minfor.gov.gy. Send us your concerns/queries by: Tuesday, October 31, 2023. Please include your name, NIS number, and a phone number where you can be contacted.”

All matters emailed to the Unit would be addressed at the upcoming outreach scheduled for New York in November 2023. A specific

notice will be issued soon for people living in Canada.

One potential problem here is that some people who cannot find their NIS cards may need assistance from the NIS to get their number, so they can go online and search for their contribution statements. Will the NIS provide the numbers?

While the President has referenced only 300+ cases in the Diaspora, there are several thousands of people who, once they have left Guyana, did not look back. They shook the dust off their feet and left. They thought they escaped from Alcatraz! Many forgot about their NIS contributions. Many never applied for benefits because it is difficult to make contact with the NIS in Guyana.

The contact information for the NIS under “Contact Us” are all local phone numbers. How about if Government is to start using WhatsApp numbers, so people abroad can call easily? There is no email listed for the NIS. You can rack up high phone bills calling the NIS by phone and they would not answer you. So people just gave up after NIS people would not respond to you.

It is not a customer-friendly system.

It is not that diasporans don’t want to get their benefits from a mandatory system into which they paid. So, what has happened to the billions collected over the years

from people now in the diaspora who have not made any claims? Where is that money? My friend Suresh said the NIS is able to keep afloat because people who have left Guyana and are living in different countries overseas are not claiming their benefits because of the harassment and hassles involved in applying for benefits. So, the thousands of millions in the system not claimed by the diasporans might be helping to keep the NIS afloat.

Now that President Ali is offering assistance to people abroad to expedite processing through the Diaspora Unit as the middleman, how many diasporans will take advantage of this opportunity?

My cousin, now 88 years old, has been given the runaround for 28 years. They are missing one year’s contribution. At first, they said he never worked for Bermine. I am sure he must hold the record for being pushed around by the NIS. The President had asked the Minister of Finance to look into his case, but we have not heard back when he will get his benefits.

We contacted the NIS Board, too, but concluded that is a useless outfit who simply parrots to you what the NIS people say to them. They don’t seem to be honest brokers, referees, or pro-working class. You get the impression their job is to assist the NIS bureaucracy to block you from getting your benefits,

not help you.

With the President’s initiative to close all the backlogs, I trust the NIS will put my cousin in the number one priority. They can’t wait for him to die. As Mr. Roshan Khan and M. Singh wrote, it seems as if there is a deliberate, calculated effort by the NIS to frustrate and bully you so you would give up, or they hope you will die. It does not appear as if they are happy to pay you your benefits from a scheme you put money into. Every signal they send you is non-customer-friendly. They must think diasporans do not need the money, so frustrate them and they will give up! (See “President Ali’s announcement of fixing National Insurance Scheme (NIS) and Passport backlogs most commendable,” KN; See Haji Roshan Khan’s “An Open Letter to President Ali: The NIS is sadistically murdering Guyanese, please do something,” SN, Aug. 26, 2023. See M. Singh’s “The NIS: a scheme of Darwinian proportions, meaning that Ministers are failing,” SN, Sep 04, 2023).

Nevertheless, now is the time for the diasporans wanting their NIS benefits to take advantage of this opportunity provided by the President’s intervention through the Diaspora Unit. Please spread the word.

Sincerely, Dr Jerry Jailall

not achieve our goals without your help. We plead with you all to look at the greater cause and donate to the angels affected by Rett.

We host yearly fundraisers to raise money which would go towards further research, and construction of the very first Rett syndrome clinic and institution here in Guyana, to care for, diagnose, and screen Rett individuals.

October is Rett syndrome Awareness Month and purple is the colour. On Sunday, October 29, we will be having our 5th Annual Awareness Campaign at MYO, Woolford Avenue, with an Awareness Walk and BBQ sale afterwards.

Come out and show your support for a worthy cause.

Tickets are on sale for $2000 and T-shirts for $2500 at Mohamed’s Enterprise, 29 Lombard Street, and at Nadia’s Avon in Hadi’s World Inc (City Mall). Registration and warm-ups will be done at 9:00h, and the Walk will begin immediately after.

A programme to teach more about this disorder would follow after. And finally, the BBQ and food sale will begin at around 10:00h.

Tell a friend to tell a friend, purchase your tickets and T-shirts, and join us in our fight to defeat Rett.

Yours respectfully, Hadiyyah Mohamed Founder Precious Angels Charity

So-called technocrats Dear Editor, There is an awful lot going on in Guyana, and much of it surrounds the oil industry.

The mighty oil industry has so consumed the empty minds of some in our midst that they have made a business out of it. It has led to an increase in sales of some tabloids, while others get the attention they crave.

Hitherto, we were a backwater country with no future and no hope; now that The Almighty has blessed us with oil, we have suddenly caught the eyes of many persons, who do not necessarily have our interest at heart. They have positioned themselves as consultants on oil and gas when some of whom have barely got a high school education. When this strategy did not work, they turned to the so-called technocrats for advice on the way forward. How pathetic!

These so-called technocrats, who do not live here, are all doom and gloom for the oil industry, and for us who benefit from the proceeds of oil.

They are on a trajectory of a

"what if" and the worst-case scenario, an oil spill, the sky falling down in Guyana, and the coming of the apocalypse.

It is all about the negatives of the oil industry and all the bad things that it entails.

The PNC's views and prognosis are even more extreme, to say the least. Everything is bad about oil, from its extraction to the utilization of the proceeds of oil, and nothing good can come out of the discovery of oil in Guyana.

Now that they are not in power, oil has brought a bad taste in their mouths, and has all reached its finality in that sinister note to their tune.

So, with this mindset, one would come to the realization that some are deeply entrenched in bringing Guyana down on its knees in that begging mode we have dug ourselves into under the PNC Regime. I close by saying the stupidity is indeed stupendous, looking at the way some are thinking.

Respectfully, Neil Adams

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:30 13:30 15:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:30 22:00 00:00

(Sign on) Anthony's Navratri Special Cartoons Evening News (RB) Stop Suffering Movie - Dolphin Boy (2022) Indian Movie - Uunchai (2022) Movie - Guiding Emily (2023) Movie - The Games Maker (2014) Payless Power Hour Evangelistic Hour Hepzibah The Evening News Movie - The Slumber Party (2023) Stand-up Comedy Movie - A Thousand and One (2023) Sign off

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

Foundation ◄

Page

Test Questions In a group of 15 children, 7 can speak Spanish, 8 can speak French and 3 can speak neither. The diagram below shows this information. Use the diagram to answer questions 35 and 36

by Gerard Manley Hopkins

In this fun and easy water science experiment, we’re going to make a rainbow.

Materials:

Baking pan Water Mirror White piece of paper

Instructions:

Fill the baking pan three quarters of the way full with water.

Find a sunny spot.

Place the mirror in the water and lean it against the edge of the baking dish.

Now direct the mirror’s reflection onto the white piece of paper.

You will see a rainbow of colours.

How it works:

When the white sunlight shines into the water it bends. White light is a combination of all the visible colours. So, when white light bends, all of its parts also bend. These parts or colours (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet) all bend at

a different angle because each of the colours travel at different speeds in the water. When the mirror reflects the light back out of the water it has been broken up from refraction into the full rainbow of colours that you can see on the piece of white paper.

Make this a science project:

Try this experiment using a flashlight. Try this experiment with coloured light. Try using crumpled aluminium foil instead of a mirror.

Try colouring the water. (sciencefun. org)

Glory be to God for dappled things-For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings; Landscape plotted and pieced-fold, fallow, and plough; And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange; Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise Him.

WORD SEARCH

NEWS

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Arbitration likely if Guyana and ExxonMobil cannot settle disputed US$214M cost oil claim T

he Guyana Government could possibly move to arbitration to recover the US$214.4 million cost oil claim that was flagged by auditors as questionable expenses incurred during the period 1999 to 2017

by United States oil giant, ExxonMobil.

In 2019, British firm IHS Markit had conducted an audit of ExxonMobil’s cost oil expenses racked up between 1999 and 2017 from its operations in Guyana and had flagged US$214.4 million as questionable costs.

Following months of its own review, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) – the technical body tasked with advising the Government on the audited oil expenses – has supported the US$214.4 million disputed sum.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said Government will not be sticking to the advice given by its two auditors – IHS Markit and GRA – and therefore, would not enter into any negotiations with Exxon to reduce this claim.

“I don’t believe there is scope at this stage for that especially given the magnitude of reduction that Exxon is talking about, moving from US$214 to US$3 million. So, if you’re saying that we’ll settle at US$3 million that would effectively leave Government with half of that or so. Those figures are not palatable at all so we would have to maybe go

to arbitration on this matter,” Jagdeo told reporters at his press conference.

Based on the 2016 oil contract that was signed between ExxonMobil and the then A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, Guyana will have to incur the cost of the oil company’s legal fees should the matter go to arbitration.

During Thursday’s press briefing, the Vice President was asked whether Government has looked at the numbers to ascertain what that arbitration bill could rack up to. The Vice President indicated that they have not done so.

He went on to explain that Government may have to consider bringing in a third party – outside of what is contemplated in the 2016 Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) and agreed to by all sides – to possibly take over the arbitration process on Guyana’s behalf.

“I think you need an independent third party to deal with this. If you settle on any figure with Exxon [even at] US$200 million, you’d have somebody saying ‘Oh, we give into Exxon’ and if we settle at US$3 million, it’s worse. And therefore, you need a third party that would deal with all of these issues… a third party that everyone has faith in – the whole country. Maybe that is a route that could be explored.

But right now, I think we

should not engage in negotiations [with Exxon to settle the claims],” VP Jagdeo maintained.

This US$214.4 million cost oil claim was recently embroiled in controversy after it was reported last month that Senior Petroleum Coordinator at the Natural Resources Ministry, Gopnauth “Bobby” Gossai, had reportedly engaged Exxon and reduced the flagged figure to US$11 million and then subsequently to US$3 million.

The Guyana Government has since come out saying that it will use GRA’s figure and declared that the tax body is the only technical agency in charge of the State’s auditing of the cost oil expenses.

The Ministry has since announced that a probe into the unauthorised negotiation will be done and necessary disciplinary measures will be taken.

On Thursday, Jagdeo was asked about Gossai’s fate but said that is a matter being dealt with by the Natural Resources Ministry.

Meanwhile, at a press conference on Tuesday, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) President Alistair Routledge had indicated that GRA reached out to them and there was a request for additional information on the cost oil claim.

Routledge indicated that the audit was still ongoing as they continued

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

to seek a reduction of the flagged US$214.4 million.

However, GRA subsequently said on Wednesday that it is sticking to IHS Markit’s US$214.4 million, notwithstanding them reaching out to Exxon to seek clarity from the auditor on the findings.

Following its review of the audit on the cost oil claims, GRA had supported the US$214 million in cost oil claims that was flagged by the British auditing firm and on August 8, written to the Natural Resources Ministry indicating it’s no objection to this sum, effectively closing the matter.

GRA Commissioner General Godfrey Statia explained on Wednesday that GRA’s request for additional documents from the oil major should not be taken to mean the matter is being reopened.

“The Authority wishes to categorically re-iterate that it stands by its advice to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Government of Guyana that the Cost Bank Adjustment of US$214.4M as reported in the “Audit Report Recommendation Final” by IHS Markit is the accepted final figure.”

“Further the Authority unequivocally states that

its correspondence to IHS Markit seeking clarity to the said “Audit Report Recommendation Final” and copied to EMGL should in “no way or form” be construed as a change in the Authority’s position that the Cost Bank Adjustment of US$214.4M be adjusted, nor to re-open the process as intimated by the CEO of EMGL,” the GRA Commissioner further said.

If both sides are unable to reach an agreement on the final cost oil figure, the matter is then expected to go to arbitration.

During the press conference earlier this week, Routledge had expressed a preference for the figure to be settled on before it reaches the arbitration stage.

“It’s a technical process. It’s not a political or management process. It’s a technical process to ensure the right costs are put in the right place and are substantiated by the right documentation. And that’s what we’re pursuing… To ensure the right people who are authorised to review them and sign off on them. It would be a last resort, in my mind the process would have broken down, if we had to go to arbitration,” Routledge explained. (G8)

8 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Man remanded over shooting incident that left 3 injured

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man, who has a criminal record, is accused of shooting two bystanders and wounding another man during an incident earlier this week at West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.

Nicholas Smith, 27, of 226 West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, made an appearance on Friday before senior Magistrate Leron Daly, using a crutch.

It is alleged that he intentionally and unlawfully injured Rondel Reyes on October 16 at West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, with the intention of maiming, disfiguring, or seriously

Remanded: Nicholas Smith

injuring him.

He is further accused of firing a loaded gun at Husain

Campbell and Keshawn Fraser on the aforementioned date, also with the intention of maiming, disfiguring, or seriously hurting them.

The accused entered a not guilty plea to every charge brought before the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts.

Attorney-at-Law Stacy Goodings represented him.

The Police prosecutor gave the court the facts, stating that Smith and Reyes had engaged in a physical struggle on the day in question, resulting in the former receiving injuries.

She said that after Smith had left the area, he subsequently reappeared, brandishing a gun and knife and started firing shots randomly into the crowd, causing injuries to Fraser and Campbell.

The prosecutor made reference to Smith's prior criminal record and the gravity of the offence when arguing against bail for him. Smith, meanwhile, insisted he had never run afoul of the law.

The prosecutor’s objections were upheld by the Magistrate.

This defendant was told to appear in court again on October 30. (G1)

Is it…

I

…genocide?

n the ongoing horror unfolding in Gaza, the word “genocide” is being bandied around. In our generation, we experienced genocide in Rwanda, when over 800,000 human beings were hacked to death and floated down the river simply because they were “different” from the group in power. Now, while it mightn’t matter to the person killed whether he was just “murdered” by a bandit or was part of a targeted group, dead is dead! It matters for the sheer scale of genocides. Invariably, we’re talking about thousands of people killed, so it does matter if we want to head off genocides.

Your Eyewitness came across a listing of “ten stages of genocide” that made sense of the phenomenon, and thought he’d share it, so we can evaluate if in fact a genocide is in the making in Gaza. Stage 1 is “Classification”: People are divided into “us” and “them”. This has definitely occurred, since the state of Israel was established in what was Palestine in 1948. Jews were “us”, who belonged to Israel no matter where they came from, and Palestinians were “them”.

Stage 2 is “Symbolization”: People are forced to identify themselves. This occurred conterminously with Israel’s formation, when Jews identified themselves as “Israelis” even though they’d been living in “Palestine”, and the Palestinian Arabs who remained there identified as “Palestinians”. Stage 3 is “Discrimination”: People begin to face systematic discrimination. This is an everyday occurrence for Palestinians – even those who remain in Israel - much more so those in Gaza and the West Bank!

Stage 4 is “Dehumanization”: People are identified as vermin and animals. Palestinians are always portrayed as lesser human beings in Israeli communications. Stage 5 is “Organization”: The Government creates special groups – Police etc – to enforce the policies. Israel created its Defence Force, from which Palestinians are barred, and which have the “legitimate” right to use force against Palestinians. If the latter do so, they’re dubbed “terrorists” who must be eliminated.

Stage 6 is “Polarization”: The Govt broadcasts propaganda to turn the populace against the group. Have you experienced Israeli media? Stage 7 is “Relocation”: An official programme to relocate/remove the people. Most Palestinians have been forced to live in what’s gotta be the two largest open-air prisons in the entire world – Gaza and the West Bank. Stage 7 is “Persecution”: The beginning of murders, thefts, trials, massacres that regularly occur; but since they are done by the Police and army, they are called “law and order” operations.

Stage 9 is “Extermination”: Wholesale elimination of the group. It’s “extermination” - not murder - because the people aren’t human!! Is this what the Israeli invasion will do? And finally, there’s Denial: The Government denies it has committed any crime!! …global glue?

Us President Biden just asked Congress for $100 billion in new spending - including $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel. Now, before you get your hackles up, dear reader, please note that he also requested $10 billion for humanitarian aid, $14 billion for border security, and $7 billion for the Indo-Pacific region. This means that the more-than one billion men, women and children across the developing world – especially in Africa – will be competing for the US$1.40 each available over the next year!

Folks like us in sh*thole countries like Guyana don’t appreciate the pressures on a superpower like the US that has to make such choices. Explaining his request, President Biden said: “American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliances are what keep us, America, safe.” And that’s what the hard-nosed Guyanese leaders gotta cultivate now that we have the opportunity to clamber out of the sh*thole!

Countries have to look out for number one – and allies that help to keep you there!! …grand larceny??

So, Troy not only took the gold and ran – they didn’t leave any assets for us to seize, to recompense us for taxes and royalties owned. Why did the coalition Government let them back in 2017??

The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Guyana Times’ editorial policy and stance

Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

NEWS

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Miner drops bag with gun, ammo, Truck driver nabbed while attempting to dispose of shotgun ganja while escaping from Police

P

The gun that was retrieved by the ranks

Arrested: Danieram Persaud

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truck driver was on Friday arrested after he attempted to dispose of a single-barrel shotgun during a stop and search exercise along the Ituni Trail, Region 10 (Upper DemeraraBerbice).

Police stated that on the day in question at

about 7:35h in the vicinity of 25 km, Ituni Trail, Police intercepted a log-laden motor lorry bearing registration number GAC 7594 with trailer, TMM 3007.

As an Inspector approached the vehicle, he saw the driver, Danieram Persaud, 23, of Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD), throw a single-barrel shotgun through the left side window of the lorry into a clump of bushes.

A such, the weapon

was retrieved and shown to the suspect, who when asked if he was a licensed firearm holder, responded in the negative.

He was then told of the offence committed and cautioned, during which he stated, “Officer, I find this gun and I decide to keep it.”

The firearm was checked, but no ammunition was found in the chamber. The suspect was arrested and taken to the McKenzie Police Station pending charges.

olice are on the hunt for a miner who upon seeing them reportedly dropped a haversack containing a gun, several rounds of ammunition and a quantity of ganja.

Police stated that at about 14:20h on Thursday, a party of Police officers travelled to Goldfinger Backdam, Cuyuni River, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), where they received several reports of miners being threatened, assaulted, and robbed by the suspect, Williams Hendricks.

Whilst there, the ranks received further information that the suspect was staying at a camp in Eroma Backdam.

As such, the ranks proceeded to the area, and upon approaching a camp, they ob-

The gun, ammo and ganja that were found in the bag

served Hendricks sitting under the camp. At the time, he had a black haversack in his possession. However, upon seeing the ranks, Hendricks ran into the nearby bushes.

The Police reportedly gave chase, thus causing the suspect to drop the haversack. The bag was retrieved and upon inspection,

one black 9mm Ruger pistol along with 17 live rounds of 9mm ammunition in its magazine was found. In addition, a quantity of ganja was found wrapped in a transparent bag.

The police are making every effort to apprehend the suspect, who is known to them.

CANU unearths 400 rounds of ammo at Mocha

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gents of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) on Thursday unearthed 400 rounds of various calibres of ammunition during an operation at Mocha Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Based on reports received, the weapons were found in an abandoned building by officers from CANU’s Special Operations section.

The ammunition found includes 186 rounds of 9x19mm; 150 rounds of .32 auto; 44 rounds of .38mm and 20 rounds of .223 rounds.

The ammunition was taken to CANU Headquarters as the investigation continues.

12 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

“Start looking at your personal security” – Commander advises for Christmas season W

ith the busy Christmas season just around the corner, Commander of Division 4A (Georgetown), Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean is calling on all Guyanese to keep aware of their surroundings and strengthen their personal security.

Commissioner McBean made these remarks during an interview on Thursday.

“I want to start putting it into people’s minds to assist us into policing yourselves. Start looking at your personal security, ensure your homes are properly secured, ensure when you’re going out, you’re conscious of your environment and add that extra layer of security for yourself,” McBean said.

He added that the

Police Force will begin rolling out Christmas policing next month, which refers to the increased prevalence of ranks on the road.

McBean stressed the need for policing to be a collaborative effort, noting that it requires partnership with the community and other agencies to be successful.

On that note, he relayed that a Community Fun Day will be held on October 28 to engage a number of residents beyond a formal level.

“We realise that the Police and the community do now know each other outside of their formal arrangement in the sense of a Police and a civilian, so we are trying to break that barrier,” McBean said.

“As a result, we have planned a Fun Day where

ball and cook-up competitions and a grand stage show slated to involve a number of local artistes for entertainment.

“We’ll have a day of fun where we’ll be competing against each other and we’ll have a chance to intermingle [and get to] know each other outside of our regular day-to-day jobs,” McBean said.

Training

Commander of Division 4A (Georgetown), Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean

we will engage all our communities that we’re working with, which [includes] Albouystown, Tiger Bay, Leopold Street, East Agricola and we’re going

into Sophia,” McBean added.

Through this initiative, the Police and community members will socialise through a series of activities including cricket, foot-

Commissioner McBean noted that the Police Force is continuously engaging in efforts to train its ranks to better tackle cybercrimes and cases of domestic violence, particularly.

“Cybercrimes is one of our crimes that has taken prominence lately and we’ve seen a lot of reports coming in and we’re able to respond. Our ranks are trained and we’re doing

more training in that area to ensure we’re up to speed with the requirements,” McBean said.

Meanwhile, he noted that the Force has created safe spaces in their stations to interview persons reporting instances of domestic abuse.

“Domestic violence is an area that’s a focus for us and over the years, the Police Force has invested a lot along with our partners in training for our officers in dealing with domestic violence,” McBean said.

“We’re continuing to establish ourselves as it relates to responding to domestic violence,” McBean said, adding that the Force relies heavily on partners such as the Human Services and Social Security Ministry for assistance in providing the services civilians may need.

NEWS

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

IFAD-funded projects

Hinterland women, youths among major beneficiaries – Country Rep

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he United Nation’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is contributing to rural development and social innovation in Guyana’s hinterland with its investments targeting mostly women and youths.

Through an ongoing longterm project, the UN Fund is improving rural communities’ lives and livelihoods by supporting activities that generate income, improve nutrition, and help smallscale farmers to adapt to climate change.

According to IFAD's Country Director in Guyana, Maija Peltola, Guyana is increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events, including flooding and drought, which destroys cassava crops. This affects the food security of the country where cassava is a centre piece of the Amerindian diet. As such, she noted that access to a healthy diet in Guyana has become more expensive in recent years and surpasses the average costs in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Peltola made these remarks on Friday during the opening session of the AgriInvestment Forum & Expo being held in Georgetown to promote investment in agriculture and food production, as Guyana aims to reduce its reliance on food imports.

In a time of rapidly changing dietary habits, "Guyana has the opportunity to boost local production and strengthen food security, rather than depending on imported industrialised products. Amerindian produce has a high nutritional value, and by investing in these villages we are building a more resilient and inclusive food system for the future,” Peltola stated.

The IFAD Country Director referred to the progress made by an IFADfunded project, executed by the Ministry of Agriculture of Guyana. Since 2017, the Hinterland Environmentally Sustainable Agricultural Development Project (HESAD) has financed more than 300 initiatives, including supporting people to develop business plans, pro-

moting public investments in rural infrastructure and implementing training programmes.

“Around 30,000 Amerindians are experiencing positive outcomes from project services, half of them are women and a third are youth,” she stated.

Through an innovative participatory approach, communities identify business needs and opportunities in coordination with facilitators from the Ministry of Agriculture. Some of the business plans are related to small-scale poultry farms and cattle rearing, crop production, and agro-processing.

They also include bakeries, eco-tourism initiatives and community-managed grocery shops, in an effort to diversify and increase incomes of rural families. The first 50 businesses launched have generated US$340,000 in income, supporting rural communities.

IFAD has financed the construction of small-scale rural infrastructure such as roads, bridges and docks, which have contributed to improve transportation for agricultural products, and strengthened community resilience. Many of the supported communities have chosen to refurbish or improve their school kitchen to provide a hot meal to children.

HESAD is also championing innovative approaches to gender equality, youth inclusion and nutrition behaviour change, combining formal training with creative methods like street theatre and radio serials. This approach not only benefits Amerindian communities but also contributes to a culture of innovation within the Ministry of Agriculture.

Through IFAD’s global portfolio and expertise, the Government of Guyana can tap into the latest practices in climate-smart farming, nature-based solutions, and the use of digital tools.

Through South-South cooperation, the project has the opportunity to access knowledge and best practices from similar environments, like neighbouring Brazil.

IFAD has been working

alongside the Government of Guyana since 1986, financing four projects with a total budget of US$40 million.

IFAD is an international financial institution and a United Nations specialised agency. Based in Rome – the United Nations food and agriculture hub – IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, it has provided more than US$24 billion in grants and low-interest loans to fund projects in developing countries.

Mabaruma Settlement’s Golden Laced Poultry Group built a chicken pen with the support of the IFAD-funded HESAD Project

14 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Guyana embarks on project to become “major producer” of honey …Cuban team arrives to provide assistance

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n the crest of several new pursuits

by Guyana to lead a robust agricultural sector is the latest undertaking to become a major producer of honey.

A team from Cuba is currently in the country to examine how this can be realised, President Dr Irfaan Ali announced on Friday. Communities from the hinterland, coastland, and those near mangroves are set to benefit from this initiative.

The President underscored that given the country’s tropical nature and its cultivated crops, it can produce superior honey which can carry a heavy price.

Ali informed, “We are working with Cuba on the development of the honey industry. A team is here and will be working with our Indigenous communities, communities where we have mangroves, communities on the highway… so that we can become a

major producer of honey.

And not only honey, but because of the variation of our forest, our citrus cultivation and mangrove, it is different quality of honey.”

Guyana currently produces honey on a small scale but the Cuban specialists could assist greatly in setting up apiaries across the country.

Cuba sports a successful honey industry that is continuously growing.

In 2021, record exports of 8500 tons were primarily destined for markets in western Europe, Canada, Japan, The Bahamas, and Martinique.

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha had said earlier this month that the move to boost local honey production is timely, considering that Trinidad and Tobago is actively embarking on steps to remove barriers to trade to certain products, such as honey.

The Guyanese private sector has for years been

lamenting about the various trade barriers in place

by Trinidad and Tobago, which serves to block Guyanese exports to that market, and which are not being adequately addressed by the Caribbean Community’s (Caricom’s) Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).

Currently, Trinidad and Tobago’s honey and bee products are guided by the country’s archaic Food and Drug Act of 1960 and Beekeeping and Bee Products Act of 1935. According to the Beekeeping and Bee Products Act, only honey from the Windward and Leeward Islands can be transhipped to the twin-island Republic – something which Caricom Member States Guyana and Grenada have long been arguing goes against the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.

As recently as June,

President Dr Irfaan Ali had reassured that the issues of honey trade between Guyana and Trinidad would be resolved.

“This is the challenge of being in the Region, you can’t give up. We have to have hope that it will change. I think there is a mood now, my own opinion is that there is a mood in the Region now to have these trade barriers and these challenges addressed, and I am very confident that that mood could bring us results,” the Head of State had told reporters on the sidelines of a high-level regional agricul-

ture ministerial meeting held in Georgetown.

The Guyanese leader had noted that he even had discussions on this matter,

and his Trinidadian counterpart, Prime Minister Keith Rowley had committed to having it addressed.

(G12)

Modern centre for agriculture...

Meanwhile, through Exxon Mobil and the Greater Guyana Initiative, a hydroponics project to the tune of US$4.5 million will be launched in the coming days. The programme forms part of the President's Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme (AIEP) and will be owned and operated by 300 youths from Regions Two (PomeroonSupenaam), Five (MahaicaBerbice), and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) being part owners of the company.

"There has never been such an exciting time for agriculture and development in our country than we have today. Young people should be enthused with what is ahead of you. You should be excited about the prospects of Guyana. We as policy makers and companies with social responsibilities must create opportunities in which you can actively participate and realize your own potential.”

Another programme in collaboration with Canada will allow employment of at least 3,000 youths in the technological fields.

“By the time we get to 2030, the modern, innovative farms that will address the issues of resilience and sustainability must be owned by young people and women. That is the direction which we are going,” President Ali asserted.

Real opportunities

The introduction of corn and soya will see Guyana being self-sufficient in these crops by 2025. While

Government seeks to rebuild the corn and coffee industry, more than 3,000 acres of land has been allotted for coconut cultivation.

Wheat and millet trials are now being rolled out to assess the viability.

Additionally, the use of shade house technology, investments and diversification of livestock, projects in fisheries continue to reap successes. All of these projects, the Head of State underscored, creates real opportunities for people.

“It is going in creating real opportunities for Guyanese all across our country. That is where the investment is going; creating wealth, advancing the diversification of our economy, building our productive capacity, developing the regional food hub, moving towards agro-processing, the creation of a food value chain.”

Guyana is hosting the second edition of the Agri Investment Forum, where over 150 foreign and local exhibitors and 80 agro-processors will be showcasing their products and services until the curtains close on Sunday.

Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha noted that this event represents a profound commitment to the future of agriculture in the Caribbean and opens the doors for diversification.

Mustapha outlined, “It's a way of life, and economic pillar and a source of sustenance for people. Thus, our pursuit of investment in agriculture is a pursuit view of resilience, prosperity and security…The government

FROM PAGE 3

of Guyana is fully committed to this cause. We recognize that diversification is key to unlocking the true potential of the agriculture sector.”

Golden opportunity

Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary General of Caricom, Armstrong Alexis said this attention to agriculture has fostered increased cross-border investments, adoption of a new game changing regional agricultural policies, and increased the budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector in every country. At the same time, time is ticking to transform the food systems in wake of climate change, growing populations, and a shift in demand.

“With these achievements as a backdrop, we are confident that this event will respond to the needs of our region, while contributing to the transformation of the agri-investment sector.

We can affirm that the political will, continues to exist, and all stakeholders, including the private sector remains steadfast. Despite our achievements so far, however, there remains the imperative to fully transform our food systems.”

The world food production needs to increase by 70 percent by 2050 to feed the growing population, which the Deputy SG labelled as a ‘golden opportunity’ to foster innovation and transformation by offering technological solutions which will help to drive or maintain the necessary levels of production. (G12)

15 Texila American University hosts 61-Y-O man wanted for breast cancer awareness event allegedly raping teen NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Scenes from Texila American University’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month event

O

ctober is a special month dedicated to raising awareness about breast cancer, and

pink, a colour associated with the battle against breast cancer.

Student Affairs

Texila American University held a day’s social campaign on the disease on Friday.

The event took place at the university’s Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) campus, where dozens of students, professors, and other staff were gathered

Coordinator at the university, Dr Anneesa Taylor during a well-researched presentation, explained that breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, accounting for over two million cases worldwide annually.

and featured several presentations.

Many were dressed in

She provided information on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, diagnosis,

the different stages, management and treatment, and screening and prevention.

Those gathered were shown a video on how to conduct breast self-examination.

Importantly, Dr Taylor cautioned that breast self-examination is not a diagnostic tool for breast cancer because of false positives.

This disease can only be confirmed by a trained healthcare provider, she noted.

Meanwhile, Dean and Chief Academic Officer, Dr Dheeraj Bansal strongly encouraged breast self-awareness. He explained that the key to breast self-awareness is knowing how your breasts normally look and feel as this helps you to notice any changes.

He revealed that women who use oral contraceptives, have radiation therapy, are obese, have not nursed, or are on hormone replacement therapy are among those who have an increased risk of breast cancer.

In his presentation, the medical practitioner alluded to recent advancements in the field of breast cancer, including the use of Artificial Intelligence diagnosis, breast cancer vaccines, and immunotherapy.

The Dean also discussed male breast cancer, which he said "is not talked about much".

Although breast cancer in men is rare, he said this does not mean that the issue should be ignored. He emphasised that people are incredibly ignorant about the illness and called for it to be handled with the same consideration and caution as breast cancer in women.

Landlady on bail for breaking into tenant’s home

A

Kavita Singh

landlady from Lot 6 Duncan Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, was granted $40,000 bail on Friday after being accused of breaking into her tenant's house and stealing belongings worth over $600,000.

In the Georgetown Magistrates' Courts, Kavita Singh made her appearance before Senior

Magistrate Leron Daly and entered a not guilty plea to two charges.

According to the first accusation, she broke into Nadia Simmons's home on April 4, 2023, at Duncan Street, Campbellville, Georgetown, and took over $600,000 in items, including a microwave, a flatscreen television, $140,000 worth of jewellery, and

$180,000 in cash.

Another accusation stated that Singh intentionally and illegally damaged a $85,000 chair at the same location on the specified day. Simmons owns the items that are listed in the charges. $40,000 bail was granted to the defendant in connection with the break-in and larceny offence.

She was granted $20,000 in bail for the property damage charge.

An unrepresented Singh claimed that Simmons was her tenant, when she was granted the opportunity to address the court.

She also told the court that she had taken Simmons to court and a Magistrate had ordered her to pay the amount due after Simmons refused to give her the money she owed for eight months of unpaid rent.

In response to her taking her to court over the unpaid rent, Singh claimed that Simmons accused her of breaking into her home and later filed a report with the Police. (G1)

Wanted: Bhola Persaud

T

he Police have issued a wanted bulletin for 61-year-old Bhola Persaud of West Minster, West Bank Demerara (WBD), for questioning in relation to an accusation of rape. The man was accused of raping a child under the age of 16 years old.

The Police stated that the act was committed on October 11, 2023, at La Grange, WBD. As such, the Police are asking anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspect to contact them on telephone numbers 2642357, 268-2222, 268-2329, 911 or the nearest Police Station.

This is the second reported case of rape in just a few days.

Last Sunday, a man was arrested after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old relative multiple times in 2021 and now in 2023.

It was reported that the suspect had been caring for the child since she was three years old. The child alleged that on April 2, 2021, the suspect returned home from work, took her into the house, and sexual-

ly assaulted her.

The victim later informed her mother of the incident and the suspect was scolded. Shortly after, the suspect committed the act again, this time on his farm.

The incident was once again reported to the mother but like the first time, she scolded the suspect and moved out of his house for some time.

However, on October 13, 2023, the victim was taking a bath at a creek near her home when the suspect followed her and touched her breast while she was changing her clothes.

This time, the matter was reported to the Police after the victim confided in her grandmother.

The suspect was arrested and is being interrogated with respect to the accusations made against him.

16 NEWS

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023| GUYANATIMESGY.COM

34 deaths recorded in Division 3 for 2023 – Traffic Officer - tells road users, "See Police as friends, not enemies"

The four teenagers who lost their lives in the Canal #2 Polder accident

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s s i s t a n t Superintendent M a n i r a m Jagnandan, the Traffic Officer of Regional Division Three implored motorists to see the Police as their friends rather than their enemies.

He made this comment during a recent episode of “Traffic and You” during which he emphasised the importance of mutual respect between law enforce-

ment officers and drivers, while underscoring that compliance and adherence to traffic regulations are key to fostering good relations.

Jagnandan stressed that once drivers obey the law – refraining from behaviours such as speeding and drinking under the influence – they automatically became friends with the Police.

However, the Traffic

Officer revealed that there have been 27 fatal accidents resulting in 34 deaths in his Division so far for the year. These alarming numbers, he stated, were primarily caused by speeding drivers.

He nevertheless noted that while minibus drivers often bear the brunt of the reputation for recklessness on the roadways, nationwide data indicated private vehicles were more

proceeding east along the northern side of Sir David Rose Public Road in Mackenzie, while the motorcycle, CH 6074, ridden

by Marvin, proceeded in the opposite direction According to Police, as the car and motorcycle approached the intersection, the driver of the motor car made a sudden right turn south into Washer Pond Road and ended up in the

ceived bodily injuries. He was picked up by public-spirited citizens in an unconscious condition and taken to the Mackenzie Public Hospital Complex, where died while receiving treatment.

The car had two occupants, an 18-year-old and a 12-year-old, both of Ituni.

However, they did not receive any injuries.

The driver of the motor

frequently responsible for fatal accidents.

He urged drivers to exercise caution and responsibility, reminding them that it was their personal duty to comply with all laws and regulations, showing due respect to them.

“Sometime in March, there was an accident with a minibus and a lorry in Greenwich Park Public Road where five passengers died… not because a minibus was involved, that means the driver was at fault…the driver of the lorry would have overtaken a long line of traffic and collided with the minibus,” he clarified.

“Persons have a perception that once it is a minibus involved, the drivers are at fault…private vehicles and goods vehicles, they are the ones that are involved in more fatal accidents country-wide. Since I am in this region, there

has not been a time when a fatal accident would have occurred and the minibus was at fault.”

Jagnandan lamented the lack of respect for the laws of Guyana among some citizens, contrasting this behaviour with their compliance when in foreign countries. He stated that adherence to traffic laws not only saves lives but also strengthens the bond between law enforcement and the public.

By obeying these laws, he asserted, accidents and fatalities could significantly decrease, making Guyana's roads safer for everyone.

“I have to speak the truth so that members of the public can know what is happening. You will not shift your blame from your total responsibility that you have to transfer it to the Guyana Police Force Traffic department…”, he said.

Traffic Officer of Regional Division 3, Assistant Superintendent Maniram Jagnandan

Only recently, four young people lost their lives after the car in which they were travelling collided with a parked truck then slammed into a concrete fence at Canal No 2 Polder, WBD. Those who were killed were 17-yearold Daveanand Singh; 19-year-old Amiesha Jaikaran; 18-year-old Divyanie Narine, and 19-year-old Daniel Tirbeni.

Dug-up Berbice cemetery…

Police complete investigation, Motorcyclist killed in Linden crash file to be sent for legal advice

Dead: Keon Marvin, called “Buck”

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motorcyclist from the mining town of Linden tragically lost his life on Friday morning after he crashed into a car at Sir David Rose Public Road (Five Corner intersection) at Mackenzie, Linden.

Dead is 26-year-old Keon Marvin called “Buck” of Lot 252 Mackenzie, Linden.

Reports are that at about 10:45h on Friday, motor car PAE 6091, owned and driven by a 22-yearold resident of Ituni, was

This accident occurred in Linden

path of the motorcyclist, who collided with the left side rear door of the car.

As a result of the collision, the motorcyclist was flung some distance onto the roadway, where he re-

car is in Police custody, assisting with the investigation.

When contacted, Marvin’s family was too distraught to speak to the media. (G9)

P

olice have reportedly completed their investigations into the incident in which graves were dismantled and destroyed by a contractor to access sand at the Rosignol Cemetery, West Coast Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

The cemetery was dug up about two weeks ago, resulting in family members and friends frantically looking for the remains of their loved ones.

On Thursday, Region Five Chairman Vickchand Ramphal told the Region Democratic Council (RDC) that Local Government Minister Anand Persaud had met with aggrieved persons.

“The matter is being looked at, and as a region and a Government, we are very concerned about what would have taken place there at the cemetery, and we are working on addressing the situation,” Ramphal pointed out.

Regional Commander Assistant Commissioner Kurleigh Simon has said the Police have completed their investigation, and will be sending the file for legal advice, but before that, some clarifications are needed from the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), the RDC, and the

The dug-up cemetery

contactor.

One family had reported on October 6 that the grave of a relative who had been buried in June last had been dug up; and at least two other families have since come forward to claim that the graves of their loved ones have been dug up and their remains cannot be found.

Regional Vice Chairman Rian Pieters had called in the Police to investigate those claims.

The contractor has since claimed that the portion of the cemetery that was dug up belongs to him, and as such, he does not see it as an issue.

The Rosignol-Zee Lust Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) has since made available plans of the area, which show that the area that was dug up was actual-

ly designated a cemetery, and is not the property of the contractor.

Rosignol residents are of the view that the Local Government Ministry is using delaying tactics, since the person who is being accused is a close family member of a senior politician.

The contractor and the NDC were summoned to a meeting with Minister Persaud, and they have presented their respective cases. A third meeting between the parties was expected to be held on Thursday, October 20.

“The matter is being looked at, and as a region and a Government, we are very concerned about what would have taken place there at the cemetery, and we are working on addressing the situation,” Regional Chairman Ramphal has pointed out.

NEWS

17

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023 | GUYANATIMESGY.COM

Region 2 villages boosted with solar-powered grids

P

rime Minister, Brigadier (Ret'd) Mark Phillips on Wednesday commissioned two solar mini-photovoltaic (PV) grids in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) to benefit the communities of Wakapau on the west bank of the Pomeroon River and St Monica Karawab on the eastern bank of the Upper Pomeroon River.

The 35kWp grid in Wakapau has a 105.57kWh battery energy storage system and a transmission line.

Executed by the Guyana Energy Agency, the $32.9 million project will supply electricity to 15 facilities within the village, including a school, the health centre, and the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hub, thereby providing residents with clean, reliable energy.

During its commission-

ing, Prime Minister Phillips reiterated the Government’s commitment to staying connected to communities and fostering development in various sectors.

“We won the election and formed the Government in August 2020, and since then, we’ve been working overtime bringing development, implementing projects and programmes in every community through the length and breadth of Guyana. As far as we are concerned, no community must be left behind,” Phillips said.

He also informed Wakapau residents of ongoing initiatives in the region, such as the bed and drain projects and fertiliser assistance for farmers as well as the Solar Home Systems Project.

The latter is set to benefit 30,000 households in hinterland, rural and riverine communities through the

Prime Minister Mark Phillips commissioning new solar mini-PV grid at St Monica, Karawab

provision of solar panels, two fluorescent lights, a fan and electrical sockets.

During the commissioning ceremony, Mignon Bowen-Phillips, who also accompanied the Prime Minister to the Region Two community, presented educational materials on solar and clean energy to the community.

Govt intervenes as water supply to Mahdia decreases amid dry season

Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal and Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai

H

ousing and Water Minister Collin Croal on Thursday reassured residents of Mahdia, Region Eight (PotaroSiparuni) that immediate interventions will be made to address their concerns surrounding the current capacity of their water supply and

have access to some water.

The company is working to further install a booster pump to assist with the supply of water to high areas – a venture to be completed by today.

Additionally, a new well will be drilled at the entrance of Campbelltown on an emer-

of the municipality.

The Mahdia water system typically provides water to the residents via three sources: Salbora Spring, 7-Miles Well and Admin Well, with the Salbora source providing water to two-thirds of the population while 7-Miles Well caters for the other third.

Following Thursday’s engagement, the Ministers along with GWI's Hinterland Services Director, Ramchand Jailall, and other technical staff, visited the Salbora Spring to conduct an assessment.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, President Dr Irfaan Ali had called on citizens to conserve water in light of El Niño, a climate pattern characterised by warmer temperatures and less rainfall.

Ali recognised the re-

Housing and Water Minister Collin Croal and Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai inspecting the water supply at Mahdia

the effects of the dry season.

Croal made this disclosure during a meeting held alongside Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai to inform residents of measures being taken to provide relief.

According to a social media post, the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) in collaboration with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) has already installed a number of tanks at lower elevations to ensure residents

gency basis. The contractor is reportedly currently mobilising to the area and the well is expected to be completed within two to three weeks.

As a result of the extended dry season, the region's water supply is being affected.

While water is being supplied to lower elevations such as the airstrip and the bottom flat of Danjou Hill, most of the areas at high elevation are not receiving supply, which is around 40 per cent

duced water flow in Region One (Barima-Waini) and the decline of the static levels of wells in Regions Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), in addition to a depletion of water sources in areas such as Mahdia.

In this regard, President Ali had noted that emergency responses to address these issues would include drilling new wells and rationing measures in critically affected areas.

Meanwhile, the solar mini-PV grid in St Monica Karawab Village has an 83.05 kWh battery and is being implemented at a cost of more than $30.5 million.

This grid seeks to provide electricity to 12 Government facilities including schools, the health facility and the ICT hub.

During this commissioning ceremony, the Prime Minister encouraged the residents to utilise the new resource responsibly.

He further highlighted

upcoming projects under the 2024 Budget that are expected to enhance drainage and irrigation for farmers, including the provision of pontoons and excavators.

Residents also raised concerns on various issues, including infrastructure development, education, employment opportunities, land titling and demarcations to which Phillips pledged to provide immediate and long-term solutions through collaboration with regional and local Government authorities.

Last Sunday, the Prime Minister had similarly commissioned two solar miniPV farms for the Indigenous communities of Tapakuma Village and Capoey Mission on the Essequibo Coast.

During this engagement, he noted that these projects demonstrate the Government’s dedication to equitable development for all Guyanese through the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources – a shift that aligns with the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030.

Carpenter charged for killing Berbice businessman his knees in the docks begging.

“I did not expect that to happen,” he continued.

He was remanded to prison and the case was transferred to the Albion Magistrate’s Court. Another hearing will be held on November 7.

Cerebral haemorrhage

A

Dead: Akbhar Sain

carpenter was on Friday slapped with a murder charge over the death of Corentyne supermarket owner, Akbhar Sain, who was killed during the course of a robbery.

Satish Ramrish, a 36-yearold carpenter, of Hampshire, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) appeared at the New Amsterdam Magistrate Court before Magistrate Renita Singh on Friday charged with the murder of 59-year-old Akbhar Sain of Williamsburg, Corentyne.

It is alleged that between October 17, and October 18, he murdered the businessman during the act of a robbery. Sain was allegedly beaten to death at his business place, a supermarket, situated at the same location where he had resided.

The accused was not required to plead to the indictable charge.

Ramrish told the court that his six children needed food, so he decided to commit the robbery but expressed that he never expected it to turn out that way.

The accused who appeared in court with bandages around his head and right forearm, told the court that he sustained the injury to his head when he was hit by Sain.

“I beg you for one more chance to provide for my children,” he said as he clasped his hands and went down on

Meanwhile, a post-mortem performed on the body of Sain on Thursday by Government Pathologist Dr Vivekanand Bridgemohan gave the cause of death as shock with cerebral hemorrhage due to multiple fractures to the skull and blunt trauma to the head.

Reports are that the lone bandit forced his way into the supermarket in the wee hours of Wednesday, and killed the businessman during a confrontation.

According to the police, after receiving a report of an alleged breakage at a business place in Williamsburg at around 02:00h on Wednesday, ranks went to the area and observed a body lying in the yard.

Regional Commander Senior Superintendent Shivpersaud Bacchus had said the police immediately surrounded the building.

While searching the building, the ranks found a man hiding behind a washing machine. The man reportedly challenged the police and was shot in the right arm. He was arrested, and a search carried out on his person found several wads of cash in his possession.

According to the Commander, Ramrish claimed he had confronted the owner of the supermarket and lashed him to the head and other parts of his body with a piece of wood he was carrying.

The commander said Ramrish claimed that the businessman had also lashed him with a

piece of iron.

The commander said he told police that after gaining entry into the building, he went to the area where the money was kept and removed the cash.

Wrong Meanwhile, the wife of the accused, Bibi Shabina Azad said the couple had been married for 14 years and no one expected her husband to do what he did.

“He wrong to do that, he have no right to do that. He wrong to do that. He never do nothing like that before.

Satish Ramrish: the carpenter charged for the killing

Me still can’t explain nothing because we nah short fuh anything. He is a hardworking man; working six days a week. If he don’t feel good one day me don’t force he to go to work. He get a slasher and he dose do he own work too...The whole family never expect this from he,” the woman said in an invited comment after the court proceedings.

Azad, who was the only family member of the accused who attended court on Friday told this publication that Ramrish did not work on Monday and Tuesday.

She said she left him lying in a hammock under the house on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday morning she discovered that he was not at home. (G4)

18

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Former US firearms investigator Haiti arrests key illegally trafficked guns to Mexico, suspect in President Jovenel Moise's murder Government document alleges

J

H

aitian Police have arrested a former Justice Ministry official suspected of ordering the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

Joseph Felix Badio was caught as he was driving out of a supermarket car park in the capital, Port-auPrince.

Moise was murdered in his bedroom by Colombian mercenaries in 2021. Most have since been arrested or killed.

His death threw Haiti into a prolonged political crisis and led to unprecedented levels of lawlessness.

Within months, criminal gangs extended their control over the capital, including its infrastructure and main fuel port.

Badio is accused of ordering hitmen to carry out the attack. He is charged with murder, attempted murder and armed robbery.

Local media said Badio had been fired from his post as an anti-corruption official in the Justice Ministry a few months before the assassination, after he was allegedly bribed to release a prisoner.

Some of the hitmen arrested hours after the killing alleged that Badio, 60, had given them their or-

Haiti has fallen into lawlessness since the murder of Jovenel Moise in 2021

ders.

Others implicated in the case have been convicted in the US. They include John Joel Joseph, a former Haitian senator, and Haitian-Chilean businessman Rodolphe Jaar.

The US has also accused Venezuelan-American Antonio Intriago, the owner of Florida-based CTU Security, of hiring the hitmen. He faces a number of charges including conspiracy to kill or kidnap.

Haiti's unelected government has struggled to provide even basic services since Moise's death.

According to a UN report this week, gangs have taken control of much of the capital, running schools and clinics but also terrorising the population and fighting turf wars.

Argentina, Brazil seek 12.5 billion euros of financial aid in EU-Mercosur talks

A

rgentina and Brazil are requesting 12.5 billion euros (US$13.2 billion) in financial aid from the European Union in talks to conclude a trade agreement with South America's Mercosur bloc, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Three EU and South American diplomats confirmed the Argentine request, which is backed by Brazil, in the rotating presidency of the four-nation Mercosur.

Argentina and Brazil have also pushed to exclude more kinds of Government procurement from European competition, but Uruguay and Paraguay did not back the idea because it could delay or derail a deal in the works for two decades, two diplomats said.

"To ensure fulfilment of the objectives of this agreement, the EU shall allocate financial resources ... for an amount of not less than EUR 12.5 billion in grants, loans and other financial

instruments," said the text presented two weeks ago.

A spokesman for Brazil's Foreign Ministry said Mercosur's position was evolving and the text seen

by Reuters might not be the latest version. "There are changes being discussed and agreed upon," he said.

The EU funds, meant to compensate for increased competition, would be available when tariffs start dropping, according to schedules in the trade in goods chapter, the text said.

A European diplomat involved in the talks told Reuters the 12.5 billion euros number was "floated" but that any support "would not be anything like that figure."

The agreement has been on hold since 2019 largely due to European concerns over Amazon deforestation. The new aid request was made in a Mercosur counterproposal to an EU addendum proposing environmental safeguards.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Thousands of Haitians have fled their homes in Port-au-Prince amid the soaring violence, and thousands have already died this year. (Excerpt from BBC News)

ose Luis Meneses, a Mexican national who worked as an investigator for ATF at the US Consulate in Tijuana, admitted to buying firearm parts online and at a California gun store and trafficking them into Mexico for profit back in 2017, according to the letter and an ATF memo from the time obtained by Reuters.

The case has not been previously reported.

The trafficking of US weapons south across the border is a top diplomatic issue in Mexico. Mexican officials accuse their American counterparts of not doing enough to stanch the illegal flow of these guns, which they say help arm drug car-

tels and contribute to the country's high homicide rate.

Nearly 70% of traced firearms used to commit crimes and seized in Mexico come from the United States, according to ATF. The Grassley letter dated Oct 18, which cites the 2017 ATF memo and information described as "whistleblower disclosures," accused the agency of not conducting a full investigation into the matter.

"If these protected disclosures are true and accurate, they illustrate a failure by the ATF to hold its employees accountable for criminal misconduct."

Grassley's letter also raised questions about how

much information US officials told their Mexican counterparts about the allegations of gun smuggling by the ATF employee, a point that could stoke tensions between the two countries.

A senior Mexican diplomatic official called for an investigation.

"We will demand they get to the bottom of this in order to bring those responsible to justice and that this type of action never happens again," the official said.

ATF confirmed it had received the letter and said the agency investigates such allegations and takes appropriate action, declining to discuss details of the case.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

Grenada signs multi- With Milei leading million-dollar loan Argentina’s with Saudi Fund presidential race, for Development

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renada has signed a US$100 million loan with the Saudi Fund for Development, nearly two months after the Dickon Mitchell Government sought authorisation from the Parliament.

Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall, signed the loan agreement with the Fund on the sidelines of the recently held 2023 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Marrakech, Morocco.

This is Grenada’s first loan from the SFD with the island has become the 91st country to receive financial assistance from SFD. The loan is expected to help develop climate-smart infrastructure in the towns

of St George’s, Grenville, and neighbouring areas in Grenada.

“The project will include constructing breakwaters, developing hydro and sewage networks, modernising the waste treatment system, and using remote sensors to monitor air pollution, thus helping the Caribbean nation become more environmentally friendly and climate-smart,” said the SFD in a statement.

“The assistance provided by the organisation is expected to generate both direct and indirect employment opportunities in the region. The project also reflects the importance that SFD places on mitigating climate change through smart and environmentally friendly projects,” it added. (Trinidad Guardian)

Colombia peace talks expansion may reduce violence, Norway says

T

he expansion of Colombia's peace talks this week to include another group of dissident former FARC guerrillas boosts the chances of reducing violence from the country's armed conflict, according to Norway, which is assisting the process.

C o l o m b i a ' s Government on Monday decreed a three-month ceasefire with Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the largest FARC offshoot, launching formal peace talks with the organisation to end its part in a nearly six-decade internal armed conflict.

The Government of President Gustavo Petro, which is pushing for "total peace" with a plethora of armed groups, was already in talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) and will seek peace with Segunda Marquetalia, another FARC dissident group.

Norway said in a statement on Friday that it commended the Government and the EMC group for starting peace negotiations.

"It is positive that the peace process in Colombia extends to include negotiations with other armed groups," Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said.

"A peaceful solution to the conflict between the Government and EMCFARC would be an important contribution to reduce the violence that affects vulnerable groups in the conflict-ridden regions of the country," he added.

Norway, which for decades has been involved in Colombian peace talks, said it had accepted the parties' invitation as a guarantor country "for a peaceful solution for the good of Colombia's civilians".

(Reuters)

abortion is on the line

The popularity of presidential candidate Javier Milei has made abortion access a prominent issue in the 2023 race [Agustin Marcarian/Reuters]

I

n Argentina, it can be hard to focus on anything but economics during an election year.

With an annual inflation rate that has eclipsed 138 percent and a currency that has plunged in value, the dire financial outlook has once again dominated this year’s presidential campaign.

But as voters head to the polls on October 22, social issues are increasingly taking centre stage, in large part due to the popularity of far-right libertarian candidate Javier Milei.

Milei, a 52-year-old economist, unexpectedly took the lead in the presidential race in August, when he gained more votes than any other contender in Argentina’s open primary.

His campaign platform includes a wide swath of changes that would overhaul public education and public healthcare. But Milei has zeroed in on abortion as a trademark issue.

Though Argentina is a predominantly Catholic country, the question of abortion access has seized the national spotlight in recent

years. In 2020, Congress legalised the procedure up to the 14th week of pregnancy, permitting it at later stages as well in cases of rape or risk to the mother’s health.

It was a major victory for Argentina’s feminist movement, one that blazed a trail for activists in other Latin American countries.

Since then, courts in Mexico and Colombia have decriminalised abortion, though other countries, such as Honduras, have hardened their restrictions.

For his part, Milei has expressed staunch opposition to the procedure. If elected, he has pledged to hold a referendum to determine whether abortion will remain legal.

Milei, who leads the party La Libertad Avanza, alleged in an earlier interview that the conditions under which the 2020 abortion law was established were “not clean”. He did not explain further.

Bottom of Form Abortion rights activists, meanwhile, maintain that reversing the law would be unconstitutional. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

guyanatimesgy.com

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

19

Around The World

Hamas says it released 2 US hostages 'for OILNEWS OIL NEWS humanitarian reasons' after Qatari efforts

Oil drops after Hamas releases US hostages

O

il prices settled lower on Friday after the Islamist group Hamas released two US hostages from Gaza, leading to hopes the Israeli-Palestinian crisis could de-escalate without engulfing the rest of the Middle East region and disrupting oil supplies.

Brent crude futures fell 22 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at US$92.16 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for November delivery, which expired after settlement on Friday, fell 62 cents, or 0.7%, to US$88.75 a barrel. The more-active December WTI contract closed 29 cents lower at US$88.08 a barrel.

Hamas' armed wing released two US hostages from Gaza - a mother and her daughter - "for humanitarian reasons" in response to Qatari mediation efforts in the war with Israel, its spokesman Abu Ubaida said on Friday.

"The report took some of the risk premium out of the market," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group. "The market went from starting the day with little hope and went to possible signs that there may be some way out of this crisis."

Both contracts had gained more than a dollar per barrel during the session on signs of escalation of the conflict. For the week, both front-month contracts rose over 1%, a second straight weekly jump.

On Thursday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops at the Gaza border they would soon see the Palestinian enclave "from inside," and the Pentagon said the US had intercepted missiles fired from Yemen toward Israel.

"The Middle East remains a big focus of the market because of fears of a region-wide conflict that would likely involve a disruption of oil supplies," said John Kilduff, a partner at New York-based Again Capital.

Supply disruptions may be less likely now, Kilduff added, but "the market cannot ignore it - especially heading into the weekend when things could change rapidly and there will be no trading."

Also supporting prices were forecasts of a tightening market in the fourth quarter after top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia extended supply cuts to year end.

Large inventory draws, mostly in the US, support the thesis of an undersupplied market, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

UBS expects Brent prices to trade in the US$90 to US$100 a barrel range over the coming sessions, Staunovo added.

Money managers cut their net long US crude futures and options positions by 56,850 contracts to 183,351 in the week to Oct 17, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday. (Reuters)

H

amas' armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, has released two US hostages from Gaza - a mother and her daughter - "for humanitarian reasons" in response to Qatari mediation efforts in the war with Israel, its spokesman Abu Ubaida said on Friday.

Hamas says it took about 200 hostages during a deadly Oct 7 rampage carried out from the Gaza Strip on communities and military bases in southern Israel, part of the biggest attack on the country since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

Hamas said 50 more are held by other armed groups in the enclave. It said more than 20 hostages have been killed

by Israeli air strikes, but has not given any further details.

Abu Ubaida said they released the citizens "for humanitarian reasons, and to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by

US President Joe Biden delivered a prime-time address to the nation about his approaches to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, humanitarian assistance in Gaza, and continued support for Ukraine in their war with Russia, from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, US October 19, 2023

(President Joe) Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless."

Israel responded to the hostage crisis and the attack

by Hamas gunmen which

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and equipment, but gave no further details of the extent of the losses.

Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield situation.

Moscow has presented the situation around Avdiivka as more favourable for its forces, and each side has exaggerated the other's losses since Russia's invasion in February 2022.

The Ukrainian military said fighting was raging along the front line, with about 90 combat clashes in the past 24 hours. That compares with an average of about 60 daily clashes a week ago.

General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, heading Ukraine's operations in the south, reported heavy attacks from both sides, with his forces conducting 1500 firing missions in 24 hours.

He provided no data for Ukraine's losses but said Russia lost 1051 people, 143 pieces of military equipment and one ammunition depot.

(Excerpt from Reuters)

First pill for dengue shows promise in human challenge trial

A

pill for dengue fever developed by Johnson & Johnson appeared to protect against a form of the virus in a handful of patients in a small human challenge trial in the United States, according to data presented by the company on Friday.

There are currently no specific treatments for dengue, a growing disease threat, the company said ahead of presentation of the data at the American Society

of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting in Chicago.

In human challenge trials, researchers intentionally expose healthy volunteers to a pathogen to test a vaccine or treatment, or better understand the disease they cause.

Dengue fever, while often asymptomatic, is also known as “break bone fever” for the severity of the joint pain and spasms that some patients experience.

Judge threatens to jail Trump for 'blatant' gag order violation

Ukraine repels new A Russian onslaught on eastern front, Zelenskiy says resident Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday Ukrainian forces had repelled a new Russian onslaught on the eastern town of Avdiivka and were holding their ground in heavy fighting.

Zelenskiy and top military commanders visited the southern region of Kherson, where they discussed the situation there and around Avdiivka and Kupiansk, a town north of Avdiivka where Russian forces have also intensified attacks.

"Thanks to all our boys, who powerfully hold the defence and destroy the occupier day after day," Zelenskiy said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app.

"These days, the Russian losses are really staggering, and it is precisely losses by the occupier that Ukraine needs."

Zelenskiy's office said Russia's assault on Avdiivka had resulted in "record losses" of personnel

It has long been a scourge across much of Asia and Latin America, causing millions of infections each year and tens of thousands of deaths, and is likely to spread further as climate change makes more areas hospitable for the mosquitoes that spread it, the World Health Organisation’s chief scientist Jeremy Farrar said earlier this month.

In the trial done with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,

10 volunteers were given a high dose of the J&J pill five days before being injected with a type of dengue. They continued to take the pill for 21 days afterwards.

Six of the 10 showed no detectable dengue virus in their blood after being exposed to the pathogen, as well as no signs that their immune system had responded to infection by the virus over 85 days of monitoring. (Excerpt from Reuters)

killed 1400 Israelis by pounding Gaza with air strikes, killing more than 4000 people, and has said it will act to free the hostages while wiping out Hamas.

It amassed tanks and troops near the perimeter of the enclave for an expected ground invasion, calling on Palestinians to evacuate the north of Gaza, where it says Hamas is dug in.

Israel has also said that there will be no end to its full blockade of the enclave unless Israeli hostages are freed.

Those held include women, children, the elderly and people from other countries which have been working for their release, along with some Israeli soldiers. (Excerpt from Reuters)

New York judge has threatened Donald Trump with jail for a "blatant violation" of a gag order in his civil fraud trial.

Judge Arthur Engoron said in court that the former President had failed to remove a social media post mocking a clerk at the court.

Judge Engoron demanded Trump take down the "untrue and disparaging" post about the clerk earlier this month.

He said the post was deleted on social media, but remained on his website.

"Incendiary untruths can and have led to serious physical harm," Judge Engoron said on Friday.

"I will now allow the defendant to explain why this should not end up with serious sanctions or I could possibly imprison him."

Trump's lawyer, Christopher Kise, apologised on his client's behalf and said it was an "inadvertent" mistake because while the post was deleted from social media, aides forgot to remove it from the campaign website.

The Judge said he would take the matter "under advisement" and rule on it later.

Trump and several of his family members are on trial for fraud, falsification of business records, issuing false financial statements and conspiracy.

The non-jury, civil trial is focused on determining damages for the fraud that Judge Engoron has already determined Trump committed by inflating his personal net worth to secure favourable loan agreements.

(Excerpt from BBC News)

French arrest after 18 bomb scares trigger evacuations at airports and Versailles

A

t least 18 people have been arrested after a wave of hoax bomb threats prompted evacuations across France.

The Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, as well as schools, airports and hospitals have all been targeted.

Those behind the disruption are mostly minors, authorities say.

The threats come at a time of heightened tension in France, after a teacher was fatally stabbed by an alleged jihadist last week at a school in the northern city of Arras.

Fifteen regional airports had threats made against them on Friday, from Biarritz, Bordeaux, Nice and Toulouse in the south to Lille and Brest in the north.

Airports have been evacuated on several days this week, causing the cancellation of at least 130 flights.

Tourist sites have also been targeted. The Palace of Versailles was closed for the fifth time in a week on Friday

after yet another threat, affecting thousands of visitors.

Mayor François de Mazières appealed for the "idiocy" to stop, telling Franceinfo that 10,00015,000 people visited France's former royal residence every day and warned the hoaxes "could have consequences for attendance".

The Louvre in Paris was also forced to evacuate thousands of visitors last Saturday.

Twenty-two investigations have been launched, Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti told RTL radio on Friday, but the arrests appeared to have no effect on the spate of scares.

France was placed on its highest state of counter-terrorism alert last week following the killing of 57-year-old teacher Dominique Bernard. The suspect, a former pupil at the Gambetta high school in Arras, is a Russian national of Chechen origin. (Excerpt from BBC News)

20

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

guyanatimesgy.com

DAILY HOROSCOPES

ARCHIE

Refuse to let emotions cloud your vision or lead to a misunderstanding. Pay attention, be kind and don't start something that leads to regret. Choose your battles and your words wisely.

(March 21-April 19) You've got more going for you than you realize. Try something new and reach out to experts who can shorten your journey. Opportunity is within reach; act fast to seize it.

PICKLES

(April 20-May 20) Put everything you've got into using your wisdom to sidestep obstacles and align yourself with people willing to take a unique path to make a difference.

Helping others will also help you.

(May 21-June 20) You may want to reconfigure your plans to avoid overspending or clashing with a needed ally. A partnership or team situation will require an even division of labor. Romance is favored.

PEANUTS (June 21-July 22)

(July 23-Aug. 22)

Choose your words wisely and press forward. Invest more time and money in yourself. Take nothing for granted regarding health, money or contracts. Do whatever it takes to ensure you get what you want.

Pay attention, and you'll discover something new and exciting that will help you change how you live. Mingle, network and find out what's coming down the pipe. Romance is in the stars.

CALVIN AND HOBBES (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Concentrate on what matters most.

Get involved, make a difference and stand up for your beliefs. Don't let anger consume you when action is required.

Don't give up or give in.

(Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

SUDOKU

Opportunities are apparent, but taking the initiative will be up to you. High energy, enthusiasm and focus will make your journey exciting and the results spectacular.

(Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Slow down and take in what's developing around you. Be aware of how others react and cautious of anyone trying to sell you something. Hype is the enemy. Beware temptation.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Take notes, ask questions and gather facts. The right information will save you from making mistakes or missing out on something great. Use your ingenuity, and you'll develop a fruitful idea.

SOLUTION FOR LAST PUBLISHED PUZZLE

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Choose intelligence instead of overindulgence. Avoid institutions and authority figures. Know the consequences and back away from situations that can jeopardize your reputation.

(Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Don't donate to someone else's cause when you have your own to support. An opportunity will surface if you change your approaches to work and money.

Personal options are apparent.

(Feb. 20-March 20)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

21

ICC World Cup 2023: Australia vs Pakistan…

Warner, Marsh secure two vital points for Australia A

ustralia may have drawn level with Pakistan today, but they really were one step ahead all evening. A game that briefly threatened to break into a thriller ultimately had Australia clinching a routine win, the havoc unleashed by centuries from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh being too much for Pakistan to overcome in the end.

Pakistan fought back to contain -- to the extent that word can be used for a team that posted 367 -- Pat Cummins's side, and gave the chase a good go. But despite a 134-run opening stand between Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique, Australia began to chip away with regular wickets, with Adam Zampa taking four for the second consecutive game.

Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan looked to take the game deep, but Pakistan eventually lost six wickets for 36 runs, as Australia won by 62.

In hindsight, the outcome of this game was set in stone by the halfway stage of the first innings. Marsh clobbered Shaheen for six in his first over to set the tone, and both openers treated Hasan Ali with similar initial disdain. But Pakistan's golden chance had not yet come, and Usama Mir - coming in for Shadab Khan - failed to grasp

spread out that Shafique freed his arms, a four and a pair of sixes off Cummins signalling Pakistan's intent.

They brought up the 100 partnership in the 17th over, but Pakistan knew they needed very much more. Only two ODIs have ever been lost outright when a side posted a score as high as Australia's 367, and it would require big partnerships and probably big hundreds. That is where it seemed Pakistan would fall short, as Stoinis

Australia celebrating

it. Batting on 10, Warner skied Shaheen Afridi to midoff, and Mir was given enough time to set himself and get underneath the ball. It hit him in the chest before it fell, and Shaheen fell to his knees in despair.

Collectively, Pakistan spent much of the next two hours in that position. Haris Rauf - on a rare bad day was clobbered for 24 in his first over, and that was the cue for both openers to ignite. Starting with that over, Australia ransacked 101 runs in a 10-over period, getting themselves well ahead of the

SCOREBOARD Australia (50 ovs maximum) David Warner c sub (Shadab Khan) b Haris Rauf 163 Mitchell Marsh c Usama Mir b Shaheen Shah Afridi 121 Glenn Maxwell c Babar Azam b Shaheen Shah Afridi 0 Steven Smith c & b Usama Mir 7 Marcus Stoinis lbw b Shaheen Shah Afridi 21 Josh Inglis † c †Mohammad Rizwan b Haris Rauf 13 Marnus Labuschagne c sub (Shadab Khan) b Haris Rauf 8 Pat Cummins (c) not out 6 Mitchell Starc c Saud Shakeel b Shaheen Shah Afridi 2 Josh Hazlewood c †Mohammad Rizwan b Shaheen Shah Afridi 0 Adam Zampa not out 1 Extras (b 1, lb 10, w 14) 25 TOTAL 50 Ov (RR: 7.34) 367/9 Fall of wickets: 1-259 (Mitchell Marsh, 33.5 ov), 2-259 (Glenn Maxwell, 33.6 ov), 3-284 (Steven Smith, 38.1 ov), 4-325 (David Warner, 42.2 ov), 5-339 (Josh Inglis, 44.2 ov), 6-354 (Marcus Stoinis, 47.1 ov), 7-360 (Marnus Labuschagne, 48.3 ov), 8-363 (Mitchell Starc, 49.1 ov), 9-363 (Josh Hazlewood, 49.2 ov) • DRS BOWLING O-M-R-W Shaheen Shah Afridi 10-1-54-5 Hasan Ali 8-0-57-0 Iftikhar Ahmed 8-0-37-0 Haris Rauf 8-0-83-3 Usama Mir 9-0-82-1 Mohammad Nawaz 7-0-43-0

Mohammad Rizwan were just about keeping the runs ticking along, Shakeel taking a liking to the pull shot in front of square, which fetched him a few boundaries. It also proved his downfall, though, as one miscue flew up towards cover on the offside, where Stoinis completed an excellent catch.

With 136 still to get, Pakistan made their last stand, spearheaded by the cult hero that is Iftikhar Ahmed, as he spanked Cummins for a pair of sixes to bring up Pakistan's

Pakistan (T: 368 runs from 50 ovs) Abdullah Shafique c Maxwell b Stoinis 64 Imam-ul-Haq c Starc b Stoinis 70 Babar Azam (c) c Cummins b Zampa 18 Mohammad Rizwan † lbw b Zampa 46 Saud Shakeel c Stoinis b Cummins 30 Iftikhar Ahmed lbw b Zampa 26 Mohammad Nawaz st †Inglis b Zampa 14 Usama Mir c Starc b Hazlewood 0 Shaheen Shah Afridi c Labuschagne b Cummins 10 Hasan Ali c †Inglis b Starc 8 Haris Rauf not out 0 Extras (b 1, lb 7, w 11) 19 TOTAL 45.3 Ov (RR: 6.70) 305 Fall of wickets: 1-134 (Abdullah Shafique, 21.1 ov), 2-154 (Imam-ul-Haq, 23.4 ov), 3-175 (Babar Azam, 26.2 ov), 4-232 (Saud Shakeel, 34.2 ov), 5-269 (Iftikhar Ahmed, 38.5 ov), 6-274 (Mohammad Rizwan, 40.5 ov), 7-277 (Usama Mir, 41.5 ov), 8-287 (Mohammad Nawaz, 42.6 ov), 9-301 (Hasan Ali, 44.5 ov), 10-305 (Shaheen Shah Afridi, 45.3 ov) • DRS BOWLING O-M-R-W Mitchell Starc 8-0-65-1 Josh Hazlewood 10-1-37-1 Pat Cummins 7.3-0-62-2 Adam Zampa 10-0-53-4 Glenn Maxwell 5-0-40-0 Marcus Stoinis 5-0-40-2

Adam Zampa exulting after getting rid of Babar Azam

Mitchell Marsh shaping up to go big

game, both openers hurtling towards centuries. They got there off consecutive deliveries in the 31st over, by which time the 200 was up, and 400 looked a near-certainty.

Pakistan's fielding had by then gone from bad to worse, with Shafique grassing Warner once more in the deep before Babar Azam put Steven Smith down at first slip. Afridi, the only Pakistan bowler who truly emerged with credit, removed both Marsh and Glenn Maxwell -promoted to three -- off consecutive balls, as Pakistan finally looked to rein in Australia.

Pakistan went on to enjoy their most dominant spell in the game, the final third of the Australian innings seeing them completely on top, with wickets falling at regular intervals as Australia's run rate came to something of a screeching halt. That was especially true after Warner had finally fallen, though not before another huge six off the hapless Rauf had taken him to within a whisker of his highest ODI score, and Australia were marching past 350 at any rate.

However, the further acceleration they had eyed never really came, thanks primarily to superb death bowling from Afridi, who managed a five-

for with wickets off successive balls in the 50th over - the second time he was on a hat-trick in this game.

The last six overs saw Australia scoring just 29 runs, as Pakistan carried the momentum with them into the break.

They began brightly with bat, too.

While there was little strike rotation and plenty of dot balls,

struck with his first ball to remove Shafique, and returned to get Imam to hole out to deep point the following over.

A couple of wickets turned into a bit of a cluster, as Babar, who looked sublime in the brief period he was there, muscled one straight into the opposing captain's hands at short

David Warner brought up his century in just 85 balls

they brought up 40 in the first five overs, before Australia found that line just short of a length to put the brakes on them.

Kept quiet through most of the rest of the powerplay, it wasn't until the field had been

midwicket, the wild look of delight on Cummins's face indicating what a huge moment that was.

It sunk Pakistan back into a rebuilding phase, as the asking rate climbed.

Saud Shakeel and

250, and 13 off the following Stoinis over brought the required run rate down to 8.5.

It was perhaps the only time in the game that Pakistan felt like slight favourites, though Australia reminded them of the one thing they had that Pakistan currently don't: a world-class spinner.

Zampa returned for a phenomenal final three-over spell. He took a wicket in each of those overs, plunging the dagger further into Pakistan every time. First, he trapped Iftikhar in front with one that skidded on; then Rizwan failed to get a sweep away the following over, and also found himself pinned in front of his stumps. Off his final ball, Zampa struck the knockout punch by beating Mohammad Nawaz in the air, to catch him well out of his crease as the keeper Josh Inglis whipped the bails off, leaving Pakistan eight down with more than 80 still to get.

That done, his team mates polished the tail off. By the 46th over, it was all done and dusted, Pakistan left to reflect on their mistakes from six hours previously.

Australia, meanwhile, are clambering up the table with two successive wins, gathering pace just as their favourite tournament begins to enter its business end.(Adapted from ESPNCricInfo)

22

GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

BCB/Kris Jagdeo 20/20 Second Division Tournament 2023…

Lower Corentyne’s Rampersaud, Hussain score centuries in opening round A

brilliant innings from national Under-19 all-rounder Jonathan Rampersaud has been the highlight of the opening round of the Berbice Cricket Board’s Kris Jagdeo 20/20 Second Division tournament for teams in the Lower Corentyne sub-area.

Rampersaud struck seven massive sixes and seven boundaries in his 106 versus Kendall’s Union, while the promising Ari-Afrizal Kadir scored 97 for Albion versus Chesney. Veteran Imran Hussain also scored 109 for Jai Hind in the opening round.

Scores in some of the matches played are as follows: Rose Hall Town Bakewell defeated a Kennard Memorial team by 41 runs at the Area H ground. With the match being reduced to a 15-over affair due to a late start, Rose Hall Town Bakewell batted first and scored 176 for 4 off their 15 overs. Matthew Pottaya scored 26 and Troy Matterson

posted 20.

In reply, the visitors reached 135 for 6 when their overs finished, with S. Seelall having scored 38, T. George 30, and R. Ragnauth 33 being top-scorers. The best bowler for RHT Bakewell was Romesh Bharrat, with 2 for 11.

Rose Hall Town Tigers defeated Guns and Cannon by four wickets at the Area H ground. Guns and Cannon amassed 160 for 4 from their 18 overs, with former national junior player Arif Chan scoring 83, which comprised five sixes and four boundaries.

Ravi Narine with 29 and G. Outar with 17 supported this effort, even as Lucus Arthur took 2 wickets for eight runs.

In reply, Rose Hall Town Tigers posted 162 for 6 in 16.5 overs, with Joshua Ramsammy’s 67, which included 2 sixes and 4 boundaries, being the top score. Solid support came from Lucus Arthur with an unbeaten 41

Ari-Afrizal Kadir

and Mahendra Charran with 23.

Bowling for Guns and Cannon, P. Baldeo took 3 for 34.

Albion defeated Chesney by 82 runs at Chesney. Albion amassed 193 for 6 from 20 overs, as Ari-Afrizal Kadir scored 97, Tameshwar Mangal scored 29, and Leon Cecil 15.

BCB, NPG Packaging Inc. launch T20 tournament for Upper Corentyne teams

C

ricket teams in the Upper Corentyne would soon be involved in another tournament, as the Berbice Cricket Board forges ahead with its hosting.

Last Tuesday, BCB President Hilbert Foster, accompanied by senior cricket coach Winston Smith, visited the offices of Nand Persaud Ganesh Packaging Inc (NPG Inc) to officially launch a twenty-over (20/20) tournament for Upper Corentyne teams.

Foster has said this 20/20 tournament would be for teams located between No. 35 Village in Central Corentyne and Moleson Creek in the Upper Corentyne, including the Black Bush Polder area.

The tournament would be played on a knockout format, and would start after completion of the Dave’s West Indian 40-over tournament. Foster has said that apart from the Berbice-wide tournaments, the BCB and the upper Corentyne Cricket Association have organized several tournaments for the sub-area. They include the Vishnu Super Store 40 overs, Dave West Indian 40 overs, and the Baijnauth Primary School under-11, among others.

In the finals of the delayed Upper Corentyne Price is Right 20/20 tournament, close to $1M worth of prizes were shared out to the top teams and performers in that tournament. The champions, No. 72 Cut and Load, carried home $400,000, the runners-up took home $200,000, and the ‘Man of the Finals’ took home $100,000. Other

Jonathan Rampersaud

Narine Deonarine took 3 for 26 from his three overs, and Saif Latchana took a single wicket for 35 runs.

In response, Chesney were restricted to a grand total of 111, with N. Kissoon’s 22, Imran Khan’s 20 and S. Latching’s 17 being the principal scores.

Berbice left-arm spinner Kumar Deopersaud was Albion’s best spinner with 3 for 16, and Kevin Umrao contributed 2 for 24.

Veteran Imran Hussain scored 109 runs, with 15 being boundaries and 4 being sixes, as Jai Hind CC defeated Kildonan by 65 runs at the Jai

Hind ground.

Jai Hind CC returned figures of 223 for 8 from 20 overs, with Videsh Kamaladin’s 38 supporting Hussain’s 109. E. McDonald with 2 for 30 and C. McKenzie with 3 for 29 were the visitors’ best bowlers. In reply, the visitors were dismissed for 158, with C. McKenzie (21), P. Ramdihal (36) and B. Williams (23) being the principal scorers. Feaz Baksh took 4 for 6 for Jai Hind.

Ramnarine Memorial defeated Tain Block 4 at Liverpool.

Ramnarine Memorial scored 165 for 6 in 20 overs, with R. Gray scoring

33 and K. Sampson scoring 28.

Tain Block 4 posted 112 all out in 28 overs, with J. Holder taking 3 for 20, J. Velloza taking 2 for 23 and C. Gray taking 2 for 21.

Fyrish defeated Whim by 29 runs at Fyrish. Fyrish posted 146 for 6 in 20 overs, with Yogindra Chinapen (28), Javed Mohamed (39), and Saif Azeez (23) being top scorers.

Yogindra Harrinarine posted 2 for 22, and T. Harrinarine posted 3 for 36.

Whim were 227 all out in 20 overs, Y. Harrinarine posting 72 and Surendra Budhoo 16. Imran Ali took 3 for 7 and Saif Azeez took 3 for 12.

GCC Head Coach Phillip confident his teams can retain their titles CLASSIFIED ADS

BCB President Hilbert Foster receiving the sponsorship cheque from NPG office clerk Sherry Basdeo

attractive prizes were shared out to the best batter and best bowler, among others.

The Berbice Cricket Board would like to inform clubs that the tournament would be using the red ball, and that the tournament would start at 1pm (13hrs) sharp. Captains are expected to be at the venues by 12:30pm or their rights to spinning the toss would be forfeited. Walkovers shall be granted half an hour after the scheduled start of play.

The BCB would also like to inform teams that only players from the area are allowed to play, unless a player has a longstanding relationship with a particular club.

Foster noted that the BCB has placed special emphasis on the development of cricket in the Upper Corentyne area.

Apart from hosting numerous junior and senior cricket tournaments, the BCB has assisted clubs and players with cricket gear, practice nets, bowling machines, cricket balls, coaching equipment, ed-

ucational grants, scorebooks, grass cutters, water pitchers, pitch covers, bicycles, coaching manuals and youth information booklets, among other items.

The BCB has also organized annual cricket academies, numerous coaching clinics, and personal development programmes for youths in the area.

Among the teams expected to participate in the BCB/NPG Packaging Inc. 20/20 tournament are No. 72 Cut and Load, No.72 All Stars, Skeldon, No. 43, No. 64 Fighting Marines, No. 35 Explosion, Radha Krishna, Line Path, No. Vikings and Dukestown.

Managing Director of NPG Packing Inc, Surendra Ganesh, has expressed appreciation for the developments taking place in Berbice Cricket. Ganesh has said he is delighted to sponsor the tournament, and expressed confidence that the 20/20 Cup would be a success.

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The GCC women’s and men’s hockey teams, along with officials of the tournament

A

fter two wins, and having topped their respective groups in the Farfan & Mendes and Woodpecker Products men’s and women’s First-Division Leagues, GCC Head Coach Phillip Fernandes is confident his teams are able to retain their titles.

In an exclusive comment made to Guyana Times Sport, Fernandes shared the following on their ability to defend their titles. “GCC has won both of their opening games so far, and I think they are looking in good enough form to win it.

“However, of course sport being what it is, it is never done until you actually complete that final match; but I think that they are poised to stand a good chance of retaining the title

this year.”

Fernandes has emphasised that the greater depth of the women, with a wider selection of good players, has given the team a good chance of defending their title.

“The women are in a stronger position, as the women have greater depth; and so they have (good prospects of defending their title) while the other clubs have good players. The GCC Team has a wider selection of good players, and therefore they have a bigger team and have a strong chance of retaining the title.”

The GCC women will take the field against YMCA OLD FORT at noon, while the GCC men will battle Pepsi Hikers at 16:30hrs in the quest to defend their titles.(Omar McKenzie)

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GUYANATIMESGY.COM

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

23

Pan American Games 2023…

Pompey bows out of contention after split-decision result G

uyana’s Emmanuel Pompey missed out on qualification to the next round of the Men’s 92Kg contest after his bout on Friday.

Pompey was the third Guyanese boxer to hit the ring during the ongoing Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, and he was tasked with taking on Antigua’s Yakita Aska.

Fighting out of the blue corner, Pompey was seemingly straddled with nerves in the opening moments of the three-round bout. However, the Guyanese cautiously

Keevin Allicock was keenly watching and supporting Pompey from the sidelines

Results being announced after the battle

loosened up to land a few well-placed punches to com-

plete what was probably his best round in the ring.

While the encounter be-

tween the Guyanese and the Antiguan had no particular fireworks, the Antiguan

landed enough shots to secure the victory by split decision. The five judges scored the three-round encounter 29-28, 30-27, 28-29, 30-27, 20-27 in the Antiguan’s favour.

Following the bout, Pompey shared his thoughts on his performance, highlighting that he could’ve done better.

“Well, I think that I should do more better. I think that I should put out

the work that I prepare for, but I didn’t do it. Everyone make mistakes, so I think I will go back to gym and push myself more hard.

I think I would’ve do better,” Pompey told Guyanese media operatives in Chile following the fight.

He added, “The starting was good, I pushed myself at the starting. Things didn’t go good for me so, but I do my best and I know next time I will come back tougher.”

More boxing action at

the Pan Am Games is expected to come up tomorrow, Saturday, October 21st, when Desmond Amsterdam battles Abraham Buonarrigo of Argentina in the Men’s 80Kg division.

Also on Saturday, Priyanna Ramdhani will hit the Badminton courts in the Women’s Singles matches, while Raekwon Noel will take to the pool in the Men’s 400M Freestyle. Today, Cecli Peterson will represent Guyana in the 49Kg division preliminaries in Taekwondo.

CG United Super50 tournament 2023…

Barbados Pride thump Jamaica Scorpions by 47 runs

D

efending champions Jamaica Scorpions have suffered their second loss of the Regional Super50 tournament, after losing to Barbados Pride by 47 runs yesterday at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground.

Having won the

toss, the Scorpions inserted Pride, who posted 258 for six in their allotted overs.

Chadwick Walton (CWI photo)

Shamarh Brooks (CWI photo)

Scorpions, in reply, could muster only 211 all out in 44.3 overs.

After the Pride had lost Kyle Mayers cheaply, Shamarh Brooks came to the crease and smacked three fours and a six in his 89-ball top score of 69. Brooks forged an 89-run partnership for the second wicket with Test skipper Kraigg Brathwaite, who made 45 from 78 balls before being trapped leg be-

Shai Hope (CWI photo)

fore wicket to Fabian Allen in attempting to sweep.

West Indies’ ODI captain Shai Hope raced to his 37th half-century, smashing 65 from 76 balls in which were featured four fours and one six, and partnering with Brooks to add 88 for the third wicket.

Late in the innings, Dominic Drakes chipped in with a vital 18-ball 40 not out. Drake smashed three

sixes and two fours.

Shalome Parnell and Nicholson Gordon each took two wickets, for 33 and 41 respectively.

Jamaica’s chase had looked promising, as opener Chadwick Walton showed his experience with a responsible 94 from 112 balls, hitting six sixes and as many fours along the way.

Jeavor Royal made 44 from 34 balls as he dealt in

boundaries, smacking four sixes and one four before being bowled by Drakes.

Test vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood was the only other batter to reach double figures, with 30 from 49 balls.

Javed Leacock was the pick of the Pride bowlers with 4-43, and support came from Roston Chase and Drakes with two wickets each.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2023

Sport is no longer our game, it’s our business

Pg 23

Pan American Games 2023…

A glimpse of the battle between Emmanuel Pompey and Yakita Aska

Pg 22

Pg 23

CG United Super50 tournament 2023…

confident his teams can thump Jamaica Scorpions by 47 runs retain their titles GUYANA TIMES - www.guyanatimesgy.com, email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, NEWS HOTLINE: 231-8063 EDITORIAL: 223-7230, 223-7231, 231-0544, 225-7761 SPORT: sport@guyanatimesgy.com SALES AND MARKETING: 231-8064 - marketing@guyanatimesgy.com - PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUYANA TIMES INC.